The Eternal Struggle Between Light and Darkness
by RedStalkingDeath
Summary: Forgotten Families: The Patils. Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Season 5, Round 4. Chaser 3 for the Montrose Magpies.


**The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Season 5, Round 4 – Forgotten Families**

 **Montrose Magpies**

 **CHASER 3: The Patils**

 **Optional Prompts:**

 **2\. (animal) cat**

 **12\. (quote) A little drama wins more friends than boring, – Scott Westerfeld**

 **15\. (phobia) heliophobia – fear of sunlight**

 **Wordcount: 1301**

* * *

 **The Eternal Struggle Between Light and Darkness**

Whoever said that 'A little drama wins more friends than boring' didn't know what they were talking about. There were different kinds of drama, and some of them only led to alienation and isolation. To some, 'boring' was highly sought after.

Mrs Patil was not quite like the other mothers in the Wizarding World. She suffered from a type of phobia that left her terrified of sunlight. Unfortunately, within the magical community, mental health was not something that was extensively talked about — or ever, really — and the help available to the people who could use it was suffering accordingly. This also meant that other people's attitudes to these issues were less than sympathetic. They just didn't understand. Over the years, the whole family had lost count of the number of times they had been accused of harbouring a vampire in their mansion. Then there were the people who thought the woman should be locked up, _for the safety of the community_.

When she had met her husband close to thirty years earlier, her fear had not extended farther than to refusing to spend any time outside during the summer months unless she had an umbrella on hand, just in case. 'Just in case' of what, the poor man hadn't know, but he had been far too enchanted by the young woman's beauty and spellbinding personality to question her mysterious quirks too deeply.

But that was a long time ago.

These days, the woman spent most of her time up in the attic as there were no windows up there and not the least chance of exposure to sunlight. Unless anything broke through the roof, of course. But she had contingency plans ready if that should happen. For example, there was the 'trick ceiling' her husband had helped her set up a few years earlier. Even if anything could penetrate the outer part of the ceiling, it would be hindered by another layer beneath it.

Mrs. Patil had recently started to plan out a second 'trick ceiling' to put into action over the next year, with the possibility of adding yet another one later, if that one was a success. It was grueling work, both mentally and physically, as she had to figure out what kind of material to use, how much would be needed, and how much space could be left between this layer and the last one. She had to make sure there was enough room between the floor and ceiling to stand upright with even more layers.

She was dressed in the thickest set of robes Madam Malkin could supply. They were so long that they covered the slight woman completely, even trailing a few feet behind her along the dusty floor when she paced around her safe space.

Should all else fail, she had a tent set up in the corner farthest from the door, spelled to be completely light proof. But that was just a last resort; she really hoped she would never have to actually climb into it and spend any significant time in there. It smelled of old socks and cat pee.

But it was time to have a nap. The eternal battle against the lethal rays the fiery ball of light kept sending her way was exhausting.

* * *

"Dad can _not_ know about this," Parvati Patil exclaimed emphatically. "We'll be grounded for the rest of our lives!"

She and her sister, Padma, had been combining their skills in Charms and Potions, respectively, in an attempt at curing their mother of the severe aversion to sunlight that was ailing her. And after days of research, brewing and the occasional chanting, they had somehow managed to black out the world outside the window to their old play room.

"What do you suggest we do about it?" the Ravenclaw asked, her voice thickly laced with irritation and a slight edge of panic. "He's going to be home soon, and there is _no way_ he's going to miss the complete darkness in the middle of the day."

"Wait, how far does it reach, anyway?" the Gryffindor part of the duo asked her slightly taller sister. "Did we turn off the sun?"

"I don't think so," Padma replied thoughtfully, studying the view — or lack thereof — from the plush window seat. "Wouldn't the world have changed drastically if that was the case?"

"It already has," the older of the two Patil sisters — by mere minutes, mind you — deadpanned, almost tripping over the family's black cat that was circling her legs, looking for a good snuggle. "Didn't you notice the complete lack of light out there?"

"Of course," Padma replied with a roll of her brown eyes. "But I'm pretty sure we would be dead by now, or at least freezing our toes off, if there really was no sun anymore."

"So what is it, then? Just in our garden?"

"Could be, I guess."

"Okay, I'll go check," the young lioness in training stated firmly, taking a deep breath in preparation and steeling herself for the imminent meeting with the great unknown. "You keep working on a way to reverse it."

"Be careful!" the more bookish — _being studious is not a bad thing, Parvati!_ — one of the girls shouted after her braver sibling as she walked out of the heavy oaken door and disappeared into the darkness before turning back to the old tomes they had used to cause the whole mess in the first place.

After half an hour of anxious waiting, unable to absorb a single word of the old texts, Padma finally saw her sister barge in through the door, slamming it shut behind her.

* * *

"Where have you been?" she questioned, her tone tight with anger shaped out of worry. "You've been gone for _ages_ ; the garden isn't _that_ big!"

"I got kind of lost out there, ended up by the old devil's snare, on the east side by the pond," the other girl answered with a shrug, trying — and failing — to straight out her wrinkled robes and pulling twigs out of her now messy plait. "But the good news is that that the darkness is definitely confined to our garden. As soon as I stepped out of the front gate, I was almost blinded by the light."

"I guess that is something, at least," the Ravenclaw stated calmly, forcing herself to stop worrying now that she had her best friend and partner in crime safely back. "Now, we just need to find a way to reverse it. Preferably before Dad gets back from work."

"Well, we better hurry up," Parvati commented matter-of-factly after consulting the time on the antique clock on the mantelpiece. "We've got about an hour and a half until he should be here, if we're lucky."

"Okay, okay," the younger of the two black-haired witches replied, picking up the previously discarded old spell books and focusing back on trying to solve the problem at hand. "Do you think it could work with a simple _lumos_ , perhaps magnified by some kind of strengthening potion?"

* * *

By the time Mr. Patil came home, his garden was still blocked from all natural light, but lit up by the artificial glow of a spell. After shouting himself hoarse — mostly because of a few of the rare plants that depended on a certain amount of daylight having whilted — the twins' father undid their hard work with a simple wave of his wand, and forbid them from mentioning the incident to their mother. They wouldn't want her to get any bright — or perhaps the opposite would be more appropriate, considering the circumstances — ideas to further her chances of victory against the world's main source of light. As the saying goes; all is fair in love and war.


End file.
